Easy Cheesy Chicken Stromboli

Much like its culinary cousins (pizza and calzones), stromboli is a completely customizable creation starring your choice of meats, cheeses, sauces and herbs. Your classic pizza toppings simply become your stromboli fillings, which get tucked inside a pizza dough braid.

I first dabbled in the world of homemade stromboli while attending the Artisan Bread Baking School of San Diego. Just one taste of the program’s star creation and I was instantly a stromboli super enthusiast, dreaming up both savory and sweet versions of this Italian favorite. First up: Easy Cheesy Chicken Stromboli featuring shredded rotisserie chicken, mozzarella, Parmesan, fresh basil and marinara sauce for dipping.

Best of all, this quick and easy chicken stromboli can be as homemade or as store-bought as your time allows. Opt for homemade pizza dough, marinara sauce and roast chicken, or lean on your local grocery store for prepared ingredients. Then keep the easy, cheesy party in motion with more of my favorite pizza recipes.

Instructions

Lightly flour your work surface then roll out the pizza dough to a rectangle measuring 11x13 inches.

In a small bowl mix together the shredded chicken with the Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce. (Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of marinara sauce for dipping.)

Position the dough so the longer side is closest to you then arrange the chicken mixture in the center of the dough. Top the chicken with the sliced mozzarella and then the basil leaves.

Beginning 1 inch from the top of the dough, cut 1/2-inch slits from the center of the dough outward toward the edges. Fold the top portion of the dough over then alternately braid the strips across the center. Cut off any excess dough then tuck the two end pieces underneath the stromboli. Transfer the stromboli to the baking sheet. (See Kelly's Notes.)

Brush the top of the stromboli with the olive oil, sprinkle it with additional Parmesan cheese then bake it for 25 to 30 minutes until it's golden brown and the cheese is melted. Remove the stromboli from the oven, transfer it to a rack and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

Kelly’s Notes:

Pizza dough is much easier to roll out when it’s at room temp.

Don't hesitate to cut off any excess dough while braiding the pieces just as long as the filling is covered.

Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.